Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1941)

26 MOTION PICTURE HERALD March 29, 1941 ARMY AND THE NAVY TURN OUT FORCINGS' War, Defense Tie-up Promotes Paramount Film; "Sea Wolf" Shown on Board Liner Affording timely exploitation because of the nation's arming, Paramount's "I Wanted Wings" opened Wednesday evening, at the Astor Theatre, New York City, in a world premiere attended not only by the normal complement of social, screen, stage, radio, and political luminaries, but also by numerous officials and officers of the nation's forces. The opening followed a press preview Tuesday night at the same theatre and another Saturday, March 22nd, at the Gulf Coast Air Crops Training Center, San Antonio, attended by newspapermen and political figures of the territory, and by the Army and Air Corps officers in the Center. (See review of "I Wanted Wings" on page 40.) Premiere in New York Following are those who were to be present at the New York premiere Wednesday evening : Paramount officials : Barney Balaban, Stanton Griffis, Adolph Zukor, John Hertz, Harvey Gibson, Neil Agnew, John Hicks, R. M. Gillham, Charles Reagan, Joseph J. Unger, George Smith, Paul Raibourn, Arthur Israel, Jr., Oscar Morgan, Duncan Harris, George Weltner, M. S. Russell, Fred Mohrhardt, Louis Phillips, W. B. Cokell, Claude Lee, Russell Holman, E. A. Brown and G. B. J. Frawley. Also, William Erbb, Harry H. Goldstein, E. W. Sweigert, Allen Usher, R. C. LiBeau, Hugh Braly, Hugh Owen, J. F. Kirby and Dell Goodman, Paramount district managers to be here for the occasion. Other representatives of the industry were to be : Maurice Silverstone, Joseph Bernard, J. Cheever Cowdin, Nate J. Blumberg, Jack Cohn, David Bernstein, Arthur Kelly, J. J. O'Connor, William Brandt and Harry Brandt. Trade paper men were to include : Martin Quigley, Sam Shain, Abel Green, Jack Alicoate, Jay Emanuel, Charles Lewis and Maurice Kann. Army and Navy Men Among the Army and Navy men and other celebrities scheduled to attend were: Major General Delos Emmons, Commanding General of the U. S. Army Air Force General Headquarters ; Madeleine Carroll ; Lieut. -Gen. Hugh A. Drum, Commanding General of the First Army ; Clarence Chamberlain, trans-Atlantic flyer ; Mary Martin ; Major General Henry H. Arnold, Chief of the United States Army Air Corps ; Colonel John B. Brooks, Commander of Randolph Field ; Robert Patterson, Under Secretary of War; James V. Forrestal, Under Secretary of the Navy ; Orson Welles ; and Dolores Del Rio. Rear Admiral John H. Rowers, chief of the Bureau of Navy Aeronautics ; Major General James E. Chaney, commanding general of Mitchell Field; Roy Howard, Arthur Hays Sulzberger, Miriam Hopkins, Neysa McMein, Katharine Brush, Deems Taylor, Clayton Knight, Willy Pogany, Brigadier General John C. McDonnell, Colonel William E. Kepner, Colonel Douglas Johnston, Moss Hart and Norman Bel Geddes. Guthrie McClintic, Gilbert Miller, Ilka Chase, Brigadier General Irving J. Phillipson, Commanding General of the 11th Corps Area, Brigadier General Francis B. Wilby, chief of staff of the First Army, Harvey Dow Gibson, Cor nelius Vanderbilt Whitney, Gene Tunney and Colonel William J. Donovan. Another notable acceptance received late last week by Paramount home office officials was that of William A. "Billy" Bishop, Canadian Air Marshall, who was to attend, with his staff. New York was made conscious of its impending premiere by the announcement from its Mayor, Fiorello Henry LaGuardia, late last week, that this, in New York, is "Flying Cadet Week." The U. S. Army lent a cooperative hand by placing on exhibition in Duffy Square, near the Astor Theatre, one of its newest fighting airplanes, the Curtiss P-40; a band; an antiaircraft detachment from Fort Totten, in Queens ; and a recruiting trailer truck. On Monday, at Mitchell Field, Long Island, Paramount executives and the film critics of New York's newspapers were guests of Major General James E. Cheney, commanding officer, at a luncheon and field inspection. Present were Barney Balaban, Stanton Griffis, Adolph Zukor, and Y. Frank Freeman, of Paramount; Bosley Crowther and Thomas Pryor, of the New York Times ; Robert Dana, of the New York Herald Tribune ; Kate Cameron, Wanda Hale, and Anne Masters, of the Daily News ; William Boehnel and Frank Farrell, of the World-Telegram ; Eileen Creelman, of the Sun ; and Archer Winsten, of the Post. Paramount has invited several thousand amateur pilots in the Eastern states to a special screening at the Astor, on Saturday. Several hundred will probably attend. They are, under the plan, to land at Roosevelt field Saturday afternoon, and be conveyed by bus to the special screening at 5 :00 P.M. Texas Press Preview The San Antonio press preview and its accompanying events, on Saturday, March 22nd, were witnessed, it is estimated, by approximately 15,000 persons, including 1,000 flying officers and trainees, and such persons as Major General Henry Arnold, chief of the U. S. Army Air Corps ; Governor Lee O'Daniel, of Texas ; Mayor Maury Maverick, of San Antonio; Brigadier General Gerald C. Brant, commanding officer of the Air Corps Training Center ; Lieutenant Beirne Lay, Jr., author of the book, "I Wanted Wings" ; Clayton Knight, illustrator of air stories ; William Holden, Veronica Lake, and Wayne Morris, stars of the picture ; five ranking officers of the Venezuelan Air Force ; and Robert Gillham, Paramount's advertising and publicity manager, who flew to San Antonio from New York City. The events were highlighted by an aviation show that afternoon, in which 300 airplanes participated. Ninety of them spelled out the word "Wings". The show was followed by a tea dance for 600 cadets. Paramount this week announced it would produce a picture about the training of young men for the Navy air force, a sequel to the "I Wanted Wings." The company has purchased "Amateur Admirals," an original story by Lientenant Commander George Campbell and Mitchell Fessier, and expects the cooperation of the U. S. Navy in its filming. "Lie" in Littleton Warners Brothers "The Great Lie," starring Bette Davis, will have its world premiere Saturday evening, April 5th, in Miss Davis' home town, Littleton, New Hampshire. It will be an "all-out" celebration for the town's 4,500 inhabitants who will also note Miss Davis' birthday. Governor Robert O. Blood, of New I fampshire, is expected, as are other political notables, stars, and representatives of the news and trade press from New York, for whom Warner Brothers will be the host. Theatre chosen is the Premier. Miss Davis j and her husband, Arthur Farnsworth will attend, j Mitchell Rawson, Warners' Eastern publicity director, spent several days in the town, arranging for the opening and celebration. Other members of his staff remain there. "Sea Wolf Sea Premiere The first ocean premiere of a film occurred Friday night, March 21st, aboard the S. S. America, en route from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Picture had opened at the New York Strand on the same day, and had a West Coast showing on land Saturday, in the Sonoma Theatre, Sonoma, California. Newspapermen were aboard the ship, and wirelessed their reviews to their newspapers, this, the company asserted, being the first time reviews of a film have been transmitted to press mediums in such a fashion. Among the guests aboard were J. R. Wheeler, and Everett C. Callow, 1940 Quigley Showmanship Awards winners. "Barbara" in Nassau Gabriel Pascal's screen version of George Bernard Shaw's "Major Barbara" had its world premier Friday evening, March 21st, at the Savoy Theatre, Nassau, British West Indies, with the Governor of the Bahamas, H.R.H. the Duke of Windsor, and his wife, in attendance, together with Mr. Pascal and the islands' socially great. The film is a United Artists release, but has not been booked by that company yet, for American showings. Republic's "Sis Hopkins" will have its premiere in St. Louis Friday evening, April 4th. Sam Abarbanel and Al Ardmore, of the company's Coast publicity department, arrived in the city early this week to arrange the premiere ; and Herbert J. Yates, chairman of the board, and William Saal, of the studio, were to be in St. Louis later this week, also to assist in premiere and celebration arrangements. The MGM New York home office announced Thursday, March 20th, that it had set 34 key city dates for its "Men of Boys' Town," beginning April 9th, on which day it will open at the Fifth Avenue Theatre, Seattle. On the following day, it will have premieres in Des Moines, Reading, Harrisburg, New Haven, Bridgeport, Worcester, Springfield, Hartford, Providence, and Wilmington. On the 11th, it will open at Portland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Memphis, Kansas City, Syracuse, Rochester, Richmond, Baltimore, Columbus, Dayton, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Norfolk, Akron, Cleveland, Atlanta, New Orleans, Evansville, Nashville, Waterbury, Louisville, and Houston. Theatre Acquired The 11th theatre of the Bernstein & Leiberman circuit with headquarters in St. John, N. B., has been purchased. It is the Savoy at Fort Kent, Me., and seats 400. Fort Kent is opposite Clair, N. B., on the St. John River, the two border towns being connected by a bridge. Kreisler Joins U. A. Samuel Kreisler has been added to the publicity staff of United Artists as a feature writer. For the past three years he has been a rewrite man on New York newspapers, with one year experience in an advertising agency. Hull Named Manager Hadley H. Hull, acting manager of the Universal branch in Indianapolis for the past nine months, has been named permanent manager for the exchange. He has been associated with various companies in the motion picture industry since 1920.